Tuesday, August 22, 2017

1)We pray for the temperature to 28 degree Centigrade, no wind because we are running around with strings of helium balloons, it will be disasters when it entangles, no rain.
All our prayers were answered as what we prayed for in the 2002 NDP

2)In the gosho, Hei no saemon want to execute Daishonin, but unsuccessful on that night a very bright object fell down from the sky, which Daishonin prayed to the buddhist gods for protections, which scared away the soldiers who are going to execute Daishonin.

So Daishonin was exiled to Sado island to left there to died, no persons who exiled there came back alive. Even with this very harsh condition Daishonin survived. But until now, no one has ever lost his life for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. I myself was born to become a poor priest, unable fully to repay the debt of gratitude I owe to my parents and to my country. Now I will present my severed head to the Lotus Sutra and share the blessings therefrom with my parents, and with my disciples and believers, just as I have promised you." Then the four Shijo brothers, holding on to my horse's reins, went with me to Tatsunokuchi at Koshigoe.
Finally we came to a place that I knew must be the site of my execution. Indeed, the soldiers stopped and began to mill around in excitement. Shijo Kingo, in tears, said, "These are your last moments." I replied, "How thoughtless you are! You should be delighted at this great fortune. Don't you remember your promise?" I had no sooner said this when a brilliant orb as bright as the moon burst forth from the direction of Enoshima, shooting across the sky from southeast to northwest. It was shortly before dawn and still too dark to see anyone's face, but the radiant object clearly illuminated everyone like bright moonlight. The executioner fell on his face, his eyes blinded. The soldiers were terrified and panic-stricken. Some ran off into the distance, some jumped from their horses and knelt on the ground, and others crouched down in their saddles. I called out, "Here, why do you shrink from this miserable prisoner? Come nearer! Come closer!" But no one would approach. "What if the dawn should break? You must hasten to execute me, for you will find it unbearable to do so after sunrise." I urged them on, but they made no response.

Answer: This is a matter that is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. T'ien-t'ai defined two points that are "difficult to believe" And "difficult to understand." One lies in the realm of the Buddha's teachings and the other in the realm of his enlightenment. In the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra we read that adherents of the doctrines of the two vehicles and people of incorrigible disbelief are forever barred from attaining Buddhahood, and that Shakyamuni for the first time attained enlightenment in this world. However, we find that the first and second halves of the Lotus Sutra repudiate both these statements. One Buddha who says two things as opposite as fire and water -- who could believe him? This is the point "difficult to believe" And "difficult to understand" In the realm of the Buddha's teachings. The point "difficult to believe" And "difficult to understand" In the realm of his enlightenment concerns the principle of ichinen sanzen, which explains that even insentient beings possess the ten factors of life, and that they possess both material and spiritual aspects of life.
Both the Buddhist and non-Buddhist scriptures permit wooden or painted images to be used as objects of worship, but T'ien-t'ai and his followers were the first to explain the principle behind this act. If a piece of wood or paper did not have both material and spiritual aspects, or lacked the inherent cause to manifest a spiritual nature, then it would be futile to rely upon it as an object of worship.
Question: What authority do you have for stating that a plant, a tree or a land manifests cause and effect, or the ten factors?
Answer: Volume Five of the Maka Shikan says: "A land of this world also has the ten factors. Thus an evil land has appearance, nature, entity, power and so on." Volume Five of the Shakusen states: "Appearance exists only in what is material, nature exists only in what is spiritual. Entity, power, influence, and relation in principle combine both the material and the spiritual. Inherent cause and latent effect are purely spiritual; manifest effect exists only in what is material." The Kongobei-ron12 states: A plant, a tree, a pebble, a speck of dust -- each has the innate Buddha nature, along with the other causes and conditions needed to attain Buddhahood." -
From the gosho: The True Object of Worship
http://nichiren.info/gosho/TrueObjectWorship.htm

is for this reason that T'ien-t'ai states, "All things having color or fragrance are manifestations of the Middle Way."28 Commenting on this, Miao-lo adds, "However, although people may admit that all things having color or fragrance are manifestations of the Middle Way, they are nevertheless shocked and harbor doubts when they hear for the first time the doctrine that insentient beings possess the Buddha nature -
From the gosho: Opening the Eyes of Wooden or Painted Images.
http://nichiren.info/gosho/OpeningEyesWoodenPaintedImages.htm

It is the power of the Lotus Sutra that makes it possible to infuse such paintings and statues with a "soul" or spiritual property. This was the realization of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai. In the case of living beings, this doctrine is known as attaining Buddhahood in one's present form; in the case of painted and wooden images, it is known as the enlightenment of plants and trees. This is why [the Great Teacher Chang-an] wrote, "There has never been anything to compare to the brightness and serenity of shikan-style meditation," and why [the Great Teacher Miao-lo] stated, "They are nevertheless shocked and harbor doubts when they hear for the first time the doctrine that insentient beings possess the Buddha nature."

This Buddha of yours, however, is a living Buddha. It differs in no respect from the wooden image of the Buddha made by King Udayana, or that fashioned by King Bimbisara. Surely Bonten, Taishaku, the deities of the sun and moon, and the Four Heavenly Kings will attend you as a shadow accompanies a body and protect you always. (This is the first point I wish to make.)
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From the gosho: Consecrating an Image of Shakyamuni Buddha Made by Shijo Kingohttp://nichiren.info/gosho/ConsecratingImage